If you want to build something in the UK, three routes come up again and again: the Innovator Founder Visa, a Skilled Worker visa with an employer, and self-sponsorship, where your own company sponsors you as a Skilled Worker. They work very differently. One is built around your business plan, one around a job offer, and one asks your company to act as an employer and a sponsor at the same time.
The three routes side by side
| Innovator Founder | Skilled Worker (employer) | Self-sponsorship (own company) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | You set up a new, innovative business | You work for a UK employer with a sponsor licence | Your own UK company gets a sponsor licence and sponsors you |
| First gatekeeper | An approved endorsing body, based on your business plan | Your employer, then the Home Office | The Home Office, twice: the licence, then your visa |
| Salary | No minimum salary | Usually at least £41,700 or the going rate, whichever is higher | Same as Skilled Worker, paid by your own company |
| Job | Running your business, in any sector, if it is innovative | An eligible occupation, mostly graduate level | An eligible occupation, mostly graduate level |
| English | B2 | B2 | B2 |
| Visa length | 3 years, can be extended | Up to 5 years before you extend | Up to 5 years before you extend |
| Settlement | Possible after 3 years | Currently after 5 years | Currently after 5 years |
Rules and fees from GOV.UK, checked October 2026. Settlement rules are under review, so check the current position before you plan around a date.
Innovator Founder: when it fits
The Innovator Founder Visa is the route designed for founders. You need an endorsement from an approved endorsing body, which assesses your business plan against three tests: innovation, viability and scalability. There is no minimum salary and no minimum investment, but you must show how the business will be funded, and the business must be new.
- Good fit: you have a genuinely new idea, you want to run your own business full time, and you can explain every number in your plan.
- You can also take other work, as long as the job needs at least an RQF level 3 qualification.
- The catch: the business is checked at contact-point meetings at around 12 and 24 months, and a copy of an existing business is unlikely to be endorsed.
Skilled Worker with an employer: when it fits
The Skilled Worker visa is tied to a job with a UK employer that holds a sponsor licence. The employer pays the licence, the certificate of sponsorship and the Immigration Skills Charge. You pay the visa fee and the health surcharge.
- Good fit: you want a salaried career, your occupation is eligible, and an employer can pay at least the required salary.
- Salary: usually at least £41,700 a year or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher. Some people can be paid less, including recent graduates and PhD holders (see below).
- The catch: your permission depends on that job. If you want to start your own business later, you will usually need to change route.
Self-sponsorship: how it works and where it goes wrong
Self-sponsorship is not a separate visa. It is the Skilled Worker route, where the employer happens to be a company you own. In practice it has two stages:
- Your company applies for a sponsor licence. The Home Office checks that the business is genuine, trading lawfully in the UK, and able to meet sponsor duties. Most licence applications are decided within 8 weeks, and the Home Office may visit.
- Once licensed, the company assigns you a certificate of sponsorship and you apply for a Skilled Worker visa, meeting the same salary, skill and English rules as any other Skilled Worker.
Where it goes wrong:
- The role is not a genuine vacancy. If the job looks created just to get you a visa, expect refusal.
- The business cannot afford the salary. Your company must pay you at least the required salary, every month, from a business that can sustain it.
- Sponsor duties: the company must keep records, report changes and stay compliant. A small company run by the person it sponsors is checked closely.
- Key personnel: the licence needs people in the UK to manage it. Who can fill those roles is a technical question, so take advice early.
What each route costs
Approximate fixed fees for one person applying from outside the UK for a 3-year visa. Switching from inside the UK costs more for every route.
| Fee | Innovator Founder | Skilled Worker (employer) | Self-sponsorship (small company) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement and 2 contact points | £2,000 | None | None |
| Sponsor licence | None | Paid by employer | £611 |
| Certificate of sponsorship | None | Paid by employer | £525 |
| Immigration Skills Charge, 3 years | None | Paid by employer | £1,440 |
| Visa application fee | £1,357 | £819 | £819 |
| Health surcharge, 3 years | £3,105 | £3,105 | £3,105 |
| Total you pay | about £6,462 | about £3,924 | about £6,500 |
For self-sponsorship, the company also pays you a full salary from day one, and you will usually need professional help with the licence. The Innovator Founder figure assumes no VAT on endorsing body fees; GOV.UK does not say whether it applies. Our full Innovator Founder cost guide breaks down every fee.
If you are on a Student or Graduate visa
Recent graduates can be sponsored as Skilled Workers at a lower salary: 70% of the going rate for the job, and at least £33,400 a year. You usually qualify if you are under 26, or you are on a Graduate visa (or were within the last 2 years). Your total time in the UK on this lower rate, including time on the Graduate visa, cannot exceed 4 years.
For founders, the Graduate visa is often the window to test an idea before switching to the Innovator Founder Visa. That window is getting shorter: applications from 1 January 2027 get 18 months instead of 2 years.
Which route should you look at first?
- You have a new business idea and want to build it full time: start with the Innovator Founder Visa.
- You want a salaried job and have, or can get, an offer from a licensed employer: look at the Skilled Worker visa.
- You already run a real, trading UK business that can afford to pay you the required salary: self-sponsorship may be worth discussing with a regulated adviser.
- Your idea is a standard business, like a shop, a consultancy or a copy of something already on the market: the Innovator Founder Visa is unlikely to fit, so take advice on other routes.